Nick Fetty | August 4, 2016

Though the amount of funding was not specified, the University of Iowa is the agency within the Hawkeye State that will receive money to study Zika. The UI is the only university to receive funding as state departments of public health were awarded the funds in the other states and territories.

The funding will “establish, enhance, and maintain information-gathering systems to rapidly detect microcephaly – a serious birth defect of the brain – and other adverse outcomes caused by Zika virus infection.” The funding is temporarily being diverted from various public health resources until congress approves of specific moneys for Zika.

Within weeks of the first reported cases of Zika in the United States, officials with the University of Iowa’s State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) and the Iowa Department of Public Health “were preparing for the worst.” As of May 19, the SHL had tested nearly 200 specimens, most of which were determined to be negative. In addition to six specimens that tested positive for Zika, there were two reports of Dengue virus but zero reports of Chikungunya. Chikungunya and Dengue – both of which are vector-borne similar to Zika – and their impact in the Hawkeye State were discussed during the 2014 Iowa Climate Science Educators Forum.

The first travel-related case of Zika virus in Iowa was reported on February 19 of this year. Since then, eight other case of Zika have been reported. All reports of Zika in Iowa have occurred in adults who had recently traveled to Central or South America or the Caribbean and none of the women who reported the virus were pregnant at the time. The Iowa Department of Public Health provides weekly updates about Zika on its website.